"Once, these fourth quarters were an albatross for the Heat, a sluggish death march of ghosts and goblins. Once, these Heat were paralyzed with uncertainty, with uneasy glances between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Now, those memories of failures are nothing but fortification for these Heat.
"They're running on a fearsome blend of ferocious defense and spectacular shot-making in fourth quarters. This is everyone’s worst nightmare in the NBA come to life."
-Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports
"A 92-84 loss was more of a disgrace than a disappointment. No matter how poorly the shooting, and it was awful for the Mavs (37.3 percent), repeatedly giving up offensive boards, and a new possession, is strictly a hustle and toughness issue. There is no way the Mavs can be caught timid in that kind of vital area."
-Randy Galloway, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"With James and Bosh having done most of the heavy lifting, Wade took control and tapped into an energy stream he seemed to have been saving for the past several weeks. His three baskets, including that 3-pointer, were important. But his three rebounds, three assists and that statement block broke the Mavericks' backs. "
-Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com
"When the Heat's at its best, Wade is free to think 'score first.' He did it against the Sixers. He did it against Boston. He tried against the Bulls, until the missed shots and the turnovers began to pile up in the last two games. And it appeared those miscues might've affected his confidence. Because it wasn’t until the second half of Game 1 that he began to assert himself and look like the familiar Wade."
-Israel Gutierrez, Miami Herald
"It turns out the group Joakim Noah instantly labeled a 'Hollywood team' is looking less like a J.J. Abrams production and more like a PBS documentary. The Heat are grinding opponents into submission with their defense, not overwhelming them with their offense. They're more about the shutout than the shootout -- as in the 3 1/2 minutes they held the Mavericks without a point in the fourth quarter Tuesday."
-J.A. Adande, ESPN.com
"An ominous night for Dallas got a lot worse with the disclosure of Nowitzki’s injury. A team with one star defeating a team with three stars is trouble enough. The way the two clubs matched up, especially down the stretch, wasn’t comforting for Dallas. A banged-up middle finger on Nowitzki’s left (non-shooting) hand only adds to the degree of difficulty."
-Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports
"Juwan Howard is playing in the last five minutes of an NBA Finals game. In 2011. All things are now possible."
-Kevin Pelton, Basketball Prospectus
"Whatever the reason, people will watch the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks with the stale prayer that James chokes when it counts the most and leads the Heat to defeat. If last night is any barometer, the naysayers will go empty."
-Buzz Bissinger, The Daily Beast
